Castroneves Finishes Second In Wild Richmond Race

June 28, 2008

RICHMOND, Va. (June 28, 2008) – Team Penske’s Helio Castroneves finished in the runner-up spot at a caution-filled Saturday night race at Richmond International Raceway with an impressive on-track performance.  Castroneves went from an 18th place starting spot to second in the 300-lap SunTrust Indy Challenge, eventually finishing one position ahead of Scott Dixon, the only driver ahead of Castroneves in the 2008 IndyCar Series championship standings.

“I was driving the wheels off it,” Castroneves said about his run in the No. 3 Team Penske Dallara/Honda. “I was trying everything I could to make up spots and we were able to have a good showing today.”

This race marks Castroneves’ fourth runner-up finish of the season. 

Ryan Briscoe, driver of the No. 6 Dallara/Honda, encountered trouble after a promising start to Saturday’s race.  Briscoe was struck on a restart on the 79th lap that eventually became a four-car pileup. The Team Penske crew worked quickly to get the No. 6 machine back on the track and Briscoe was able to finish 15th.

“It was pretty crazy out there tonight,” said Briscoe. “We were able to hold our position through the first stint, but the restart after our first stop was a complete mess. I heard green, and then I glanced in my mirrors. The next thing I know is that the guys in front of me were on their brakes, and I was into the back of the No. 14 car. It was just a chain reaction from there, and I got hit from behind.”

”I’ve got to hand it to my guys for working so hard and getting us back out there tonight, I’m just sorry we couldn’t do more,” Briscoe added.

The 2008 IndyCar Series season continues on Sunday, July 6 with the Camping World Grand Prix at Watkins Glen International. The race will be telecast live at 3:30 p.m. EDT by ABC-TV and will air live on the IMS Radio Network.

Results Saturday of the SunTrust Indy Challenge IndyCar Series event June 28 at the .75-mile Richmond International Raceway, with order of finish, starting position in parentheses, driver, chassis-engine, laps completed and reason out (if any):

1. (1) Tony Kanaan, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

2. (18) Helio Castroneves, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

3. (4) Scott Dixon, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

4. (6) Dan Wheldon, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

5. (10) Oriol Servia, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

6. (14) Danica Patrick, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

7. (23) Justin Wilson, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

8. (21) Townsend Bell, Dallara-Honda, 300, Running

9. (2) Marco Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 299, Running

10. (19) EJ Viso, Dallara-Honda, 298, Running

11. (13) Ed Carpenter, Dallara-Honda, 238, Running

12. (22) Darren Manning, Dallara-Honda, 235, Running

13. (7) Hideki Mutoh, Dallara-Honda, 220, Mechanical

14. (24) Jaime Camara, Dallara-Honda, 217, Contact

15. (11) Ryan Briscoe, Dallara-Honda, 158, Pits

16. (25) Ryan Hunter-Reay, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact

17. (20) Mario Moraes, Dallara-Honda, 143, Contact

18. (3) Graham Rahal, Dallara-Honda, 131, Contact

19. (15) Marty Roth, Dallara-Honda, 117, Handling

20. (17) Vitor Meira, Dallara-Honda, 91, Contact

21. (12) John Andretti, Dallara-Honda, 91, Contact

22. (5) Buddy Rice, Dallara-Honda, 80, Contact

23. (9) Bruno Junqueira, Dallara-Honda, 78, Contact

24. (8) A.J. Foyt IV, Dallara-Honda, 29, Contact

25. (16) Will Power, Dallara-Honda, 8, Contact

26. (26) Enrique Bernoldi, Dallara-Honda, 6, Handling

Race Statistics:

Winner's average speed: 108.790 mph

Time of race: 2:04:05.5111

Margin of victory: 4.7691 seconds

Cautions: 9 caution flags for 102 laps

Lead changes: 3 among 3 drivers

Lap leaders: Kanaan 1-71, Camara 72-115, M. Andretti 116-205, Kanaan 206-300.

Point standings: Dixon 351, Castroneves 308, Wheldon 299, Kanaan 269, Patrick 220, Mutoh 216, M. Andretti 211, Briscoe 210, Servia 194, Carpenter 185.